So the off season commonly starts with an unknown period of time of not many workouts and just as much eating as when you were training and burning 2000 calories a day. This quickly adds up in ways that no one is ready for, and the next thing you know, you start making promises to yourself: I'm going to workout, I'm going to go back on a diet, I'm going to get off the couch/out of bed/etc etc. These promises go on for a little while and finally something happens that snaps you out of it and you get back to it.
While I can't pinpoint the exact moment that snapped me out of it, I conned myself into going to the pool... at least one step in the right direction, and lo and behold, I came out of the pool and felt like a different person. I bounced out that door, I jammed to music in the car, I came home and I ate a healthy lunch. And there it was... I am a better/nicer/happier person when I get my ass in gear. Sometimes sleep is so tempting, but neither an extra hour of sleep, nor any TV show that can reproduce that feeling.
Today I didn't sleep enough because of scheduling conflicts but didn't allow that to become an excuse, and again, I got myself not only out the door, but to the gym for a double workout. The run was so-so, nothing impressive, 9min run 1 min walk, 4 min/1min/4min/1min/4min to wrap up a 34 minute 5k. I was joined by a friend for a bit of it which gave me the confidence that I could absolutely keep going (Thanks C!).
I convinced myself to get into the pool afterwards (thankfully had put my swimsuit on underneath my running gear because otherwise I think it would have been easy to talk myself out of it. The first one hundred yards... wasn't pretty, the girl in the lane next to me was close to my speed and that made me push too hard. When I finally settled down I banged out a good mile, with each 100 on the 1:20. Can't complain about that. As usual I got a lot of thinking done and pondered a high school classmate's journey to Tempe this week for IMAZ on Sunday. I am so excited for him and wish him nothing but the best on his first Ironman. Myself, obviously I'm hooked again, didn't take much, but there is certainly no stopping me now! :)
